


Smiles

by thatonenerdygeek



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fluff, Gen, Good Dad Jack, Halloween, I don't know how else to tag this, It's just fluffy and cute shit okay, M/M, Modern AU, Modern AU where sirens are real I guess???
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-27
Updated: 2017-10-27
Packaged: 2019-01-25 03:31:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12522008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatonenerdygeek/pseuds/thatonenerdygeek
Summary: Halloween one shot in which Rhys changes Jack's life more than he could have thought.





	Smiles

**Author's Note:**

> Oh. Well. Hi there. I see it's been a while. Soooo many things have been going on lately and I just haven't been able to find the time and energy to write lately. But I had gotten this idea the other day and...agh, I just really wanted to work with it. I may make more one shots or shorter fics in this AU but I'm not entirely sure. Be sure to tell me if that's something you all would like to see after you read this one!
> 
> Also, huuuuge apologies if anyone is out of character in this. Like I said, it's been a long while since I wrote last so I'm still trying to get back into it. 
> 
> ~Come say hi to me on Tumblr! <https://hancock4prez.tumblr.com/> ~

Angel never bothered with Halloween. Her response was always, ‘Kids think I’m a freak because I’m a siren. It’s like Halloween every day for me.’. Goddamn, it broke Jack’s heart. Even at twelve years old now, she never embraced being a siren. In fact, she loathed it. Especially when her powers started getting a bit more out of control. Then she would constantly ask him why the hell she had to be cursed with being a siren. No matter how much Jack tried to convince her that it wasn’t a curse at all, it never worked. But maybe that was because he was just...absolutely terrible at being a dad.

Okay, he wasn’t that terrible. Angel had a damn nice roof over her head, she got rather pricey gifts for her birthday and Christmas, always ate the best food...but when it came to actually _connecting_ with her, Jack was lost. How the hell was he supposed to understand a pre-teen? Siren issues aside, she was constantly moody, always picking fights with him, keeping secrets from him..it friggin’ sucked. No one told him raising a girl would be so goddamn infuriating. 

But...well, then he met Rhys. Rhys was different from a lot of people Jack had ever met. The pretty, lanky thing worked at Jack’s favorite bar. But due to Rhys’ schedule and how infrequently Jack actually went to the bar, they never crossed paths until recently. It was about half a year ago, Jack was a few drinks in with his cheek resting against his palm as he stared off at the bottles lined along the shelves. That same morning, Angel had said the three words Jack never wanted to hear in his life, not from his own daughter. ‘I hate you’. Once his twin took her for the weekend like usual, Jack headed straight for the bar and just started drinking. Maybe if he got drunk enough, he could permanently forget that she even said that.

While he was staring off into space, darkness suddenly blocked his vision. At first, he thought he already passed out. But as he began to focus and everything got more clear, he realized the darkness was just a smooth button down shirt. And further up was a pale neck adorned with a spiral tattoo. And even further up was a goddamn gorgeous face staring right at him, expectantly. Jack just blinked at him, staring right back until the kid let out an awkward laugh and gestured towards the empty glass in his hand.

“Do you want another drink? Same thing? Rum and coke?” For a moment, Jack just stared down at his own glass until his tipsy mind started to catch up with what the guy asked him. Nodding dumbly, he simply pushed his glass out of the way and allowed the bartender to fill up another. Damn right, Jack wouldn’t deny that he leaned over to bar to catch a glimpse of his ass as he walked away.

After that point, the rest of their meeting was a blur. Maybe it was because Jack was slowly getting more and more drunk. Maybe it was because everything seemed so surreal. Rhys seemed to have an answer to all of his problems. Said that Angel was just trying to gain more independence, test boundaries. That it wasn’t too different from the way 2 and 3 year olds act as well, when they start realizing they can say no and be defiant. All in all, Rhys and Jack talked for just 10 minutes and Jack left the bar realizing that his baby girl was just growing up on him. He hated it for sure, but it seemed like something he would just have to get used to.

A month after their first meeting, Jack would go to Rhys whenever he had more parenting problems. And damnit, the kid seemed to always know exactly what to say to make Jack feel better. And Jack...well, he was smitten. Some days, he wouldn’t even drink so he could remember every detail the morning after. The way Rhys leaned on the bar with his elbows propped up on the counter top. The way he would seem slightly annoyed whenever someone else called him over for a drink. But as soon as he was in front of Jack again, that dopey smile was back on his face. That next month, Rhys gathered up the courage to ask Jack out on a date during the week while Angel was in school. It was simple. Just a quick coffee date. But Jack knew that he was never letting his nerd go after that.

6 months later, Rhys was in the process of moving in and had a damn nice engagement ring on his finger. Jack spent a shit ton on that rock so he was pleased that Rhys kept admiring it every time the light shone on the diamond and eridium stones. 

Today...well, it seemed like every other day in Jack’s eyes. It was technically Halloween but as always, Angel was holed up in her room. Probably reading or doing homework or some other nerd shit. Not that Jack was complaining. He was pretty damn proud to say his daughter got straight A’s. And Rhys was...somewhere. Jack looked all around the house for him but he just assumed he had gone back to his apartment to pack up some more stuff and come back tonight. So, he didn’t really think much about Rhys’ absence. 

That was, until Jack heard Rhys’ voice coming from inside Angel’s room when he walked through the hallway. That...was odd but again, Jack didn’t really think too much about it. In the past couple months, Rhys and Angel had become really close. Which was shocking, to say the least. Angel didn’t really have any close friends and her only family was him and her uncle Tim. But the two of them got along so well, it seemed like Rhys knew her so much more than Jack did. Yeah, it kinda made him a bit jealous. Jack has known Angel all her life and now Rhys comes in and understands her like _he_ knew her all _his_ life. It took a while but Jack eventually realized that this was...probably a good thing. A learning opportunity, maybe. If he could watch how Rhys was with Angel, maybe he could somehow do the same and get their relationship back on track.

Still, despite Angel warming up to Rhys so well, no one ever went into her room but her. Jack couldn’t even go into her room these days. It seemed like her little safe place, almost. And she got pissy when she didn’t get any of her alone time so Jack was fine with that being her hiding place. So...why would Rhys be in there if she never let _anyone_ in her room?

Well, Angel may hate him for a day or two for knocking on her door but he was far too curious to just walk away. Quietly, Jack stepped towards the door and lightly knocked on the door with his knuckles. From behind the door, he could hear faint shushing and...giggling? 

“J-Just a second, dad!...Do I look cool, Rhys?”

“I think we both look freaking awesome.Come on.”

Jack eventually stepped back as their footsteps grew closer, thick brows furrowed in utter confusion. What in the shit was going on? And since when did Angel sound so...happy? What kind of Twilight Zone shit was this?

When the door opened, Jack’s eyes first focused in on Rhys. And damnit, if Angel wasn’t there, he would have gladly dragged his leggy self off to the bedroom because _damn_ , he looked good. The kid was dressed in a white silk button down shirt, a tight black vest with gold buttons and chains and black slacks. The weird cape thing was a little...laughable. But Jack was willing to look past that. Especially when Rhys grinned at him with fake fanged teeth, fake blood staining them and even dripping down his chin as if he had just gotten done feeding off of some poor soul. Why was that hot? That shouldn’t be hot.

But the most surprising part was when Jack looked down beside him and found Angel. She was dressed in a long, black and red dress that was covered in intricate black lace. The skirt was full and covered with a thin layer of black tulle, just thin enough to see the red silk fabric of the skirt beneath it. The collar behind her neck came up a good few inches, giving more of that vampire feel. Her long black hair was expertly braided - and Jack would ask Rhys about that later - and decorated with a couple vintage looking gold and diamond pins. And what got to Jack the most was the fact that she was smiling, also showing off her fake fangs and fake blood. But she was _smiling_

Angel rarely ever smiled anymore.

And she never dressed up for Halloween.

“What do you think? She wanted to go trick-or-treating tonight and I swear I was gonna ask you if it was okay but she wanted it to be a surprise.” Rhys nudged Angel’s shoulder with his arm, to which Angel gave both of them a sheepish look.

“Do, um...do you like it, dad?” With Angel directly talking to him, Jack was able to snap out of his complete shock and finally really focus on her. She looked hopeful, excited. And without thinking too much about it, Jack just nodded his head and stammered out a reply.

“Y-Yeah, you...how about you go wait by the door, I need to talk to Rhys for a second.” Without even hesitating, Angel ran for the door to go wait as she was told, heavy combat boots hitting against the floor. Meanwhile, Rhys seemed to look at Jack worriedly. Goddamn cute ass kid. Jack didn’t even wait for him to say anything and just tugged him closer by the vest to pull him into quick, messy kiss. Of course, Rhys didn’t really complain and after a moment of hesitation, gripped Jack by the forearms and let out a cute little mewl. Oh, how he would love to continue this in the bedroom. But it would have to wait until later. When Angel was dropped off with Tim.

As Jack pulled back, he caught Rhys by the chin with his thumb and forefinger before he could try to follow and kiss him again. The kid pouted for a second, but still smiled at him with a look of utter adoration. Damnit, Jack was smitten and they both knew it damn well. Though he tried to hide it as much as he could. He was about to become CEO, he had a reputation to protect. But...fuck, he just loved that dopey smile and those bright eyes.

“Got some blood there.” Rhys snickered as one of his hands came up to Jack’s face, his thumb carefully wiping away whatever fake blood had been smudged onto his lips and chin. “So,” He continued, mismatched eyes flickering up to Jack with a hint of curiosity. “what was that for?”

It was hard to put into words what Jack was feeling. Horniness certainly played a part in him grabbing Rhys and kissing him like that. But that wasn’t the only thing. “I just...I’unno...thank you, kid.” A rare, genuine smile played on Jack’s lips as his own thumb swiped out to brush against Rhys’ cheek.

“Thank you for making her smile again.”


End file.
